The Architecture of the Chanel Shows : Behind the Scenes at the Grand Palais

Fascinating insights into the architecture and set design behind Chanel’s one-of-a-kind fashion shows at Paris’ Grand Palais

Ask any contributor to Vogue or Harper’s Bazaar what their favorite Chanel show is, and chances are it took place in the Grand Palais. From 2006 to 2019, the Grand Palais hosted Karl Lagerfeld’s groundbreaking shows, accommodating extensive sets from a supermarket to an art gallery to a “Chanel Airlines” airport terminal. The expansive Beaux-Arts building, with its exaggerated, enchanting verticality, served as a gateway for the designer’s fantastic visions. In this book—the first to explore the architecture of the Chanel shows—architect Florent Verdès selects 30 set designs that reveal how architecture was at the core of Lagerfeld’s creative process during these years. The Architecture of the Chanel Shows teems with sketches, photographs of 3D models and the sets, architectural drawings, archival documents and more, ultimately revealing the talent behind making these visions come to life: set designer Stefan Lubrina.